Gluing flex pvc and hard pvc
 

Im need to go to HD tomorrow and start purchasing all the plumbing equipment. What do I use to glue hard pvc? I want to stay away from the purple stuff that I see a lot of people use as it looks kind of messy when not applied carefully?

What do I use for flex pvc? Thanks for all your help

Well first off, the rain or shine glue (you call it the blue messy stuff) is the only glue you are gonna find local that works on the flex pipe. Custom Aquatic carries the clear kind for flex. Standard pvp will glue together fine with a clear pvpc cement that can be purchased at hd. If you dont want to use the blue primmer you can use acetone to prime the pipe before you glue it. Personaly I use the blue rain or shine because it works so well and with it you dont need to prime the pipe.;)

Ditto on the clear pvc for hard pipe. I've never glued spa-flex, so I can't chime in on that.

Just remember to:
1. lightly sand the two hard pipes in the areas to be glued. This gives the glue a better "grip" on the pipe.
2. wipe the area that you just sanded with a clean cloth to remove dust
3. coat BOTH the male and female pipe sections with the glue
4. mate the pipes and give them a 1/4 to 1/2 twist. This will smear the glue even further and give you a good coating.

I've never used the primer, and I've only had 1 joint ever have a slight leak.

If you're doing elbows and whatnot that you need to have at a particular angle, I recommend doing a dry fit, and marking both pipes with a pencil or sharpie to show the aligned position. Then when twisting in step 4 above, just twist until the two lines line up. Voila!

Apologies if you already knew all this.

P.S. Having plumbed two basement sump/refugium rooms, in retrospect I would use spa-flex whenever I could. It would've been much easier on me for all the angles/turns.

The white flexable spa flex tubing is made to be glued with the same stuff used to do regular pvc pipe.It is also to be used in the same way as regular pvc pipe.

there actually is a special glue for flex pvc, but i have used standard clear pvc glue, no primer, or cleaner with no problems.

I have used the standard Glue along with the Purple primer on my flex pvc and it works perfectly.

If you spend the $3-4 for the purple primer, you should not need to mess with sanding or anything. Just wipe clean, purple prime it, and give it 15-20 seconds before applying clear glue.
Give it 1/3 turn while inserting, and hold for 30 seconds to prevent push-out.

Its a solvent, so sanding is not necessary as primer and glue basically make that moot.

Use the blue stuff if your doing spa flex. I just did a job with it yesterday and it works great. 5 bucks at HD for enough to last a long time.

There is also gorilla glue for pvc, no VOC's, smell, no dead brain cells, and works at lower and higher temps. Does not work wet thought I believe. Gotta find some of that stuff, glueing in the house in the winter is not too smart.

Home depot does not have spa flex (at least not around Chicago).

Go to menards. THey also have flexible PVC cement there.

I use barb fittings to transition from hard PVC to PVC spa flex. I heat the end of the spa flex in boiling water to soften it up than slide it over the barb and apply a hose clamp.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11525954#post11525954 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by laf-reef [/i]
[B]I use barb fittings to transition from hard PVC to PVC spa flex. I heat the end of the spa flex in boiling water to soften it up than slide it over the barb and apply a hose clamp. [/B][/QUOTE]

Like I replied in the other thread, using barbed fittings with spa flex is a waste of your inside diameter of your pipe. You are killing your flow by doing this. With Spa Flex, you can use normal PVC fittings and glue them directly in without using barbed fittings.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11526045#post11526045 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GrandeGixxer [/i]
[B]Like I replied in the other thread, using barbed fittings with spa flex is a waste of your inside diameter of your pipe. You are killing your flow by doing this. With Spa Flex, you can use normal PVC fittings and glue them directly in without using barbed fittings. [/B][/QUOTE]

I totally get what your saying, but if permanantly gluing isn't an option, is the flow reduction going to be any different than slipping tubing over the barbs?

I just got done plumbing my system and used a mix of hard and flex pvc. The best way to glue it is to: clean both surfaces to be glued, coat both sides (male and female) with primer, (if you dont like the look of the purple primer you can get clear primer). Liberaly apply PVC glue to both parts, finaly push the 2 parts together while at the same time giving them a 1/4 to 1/2 turn. Hold them together for at least 30 seconds. THE FLEX PVC WILL WANT TO BACK OUT, MAKE SURE YOU HOLD THEM TOGETHER WITH SOME FORCE!

I have over 50 joints and none of them leaked using this method.

Good luck
Brent

If you need to be able to disconnect part of your plumbing, use unions and ball valves. These are cheap ways to add convenience to you plumbing setup.